


i will follow you into the dark

by AshesStarsAndRedStringsOfFate



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst, Blood, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Violence, pride month 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:26:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24485047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshesStarsAndRedStringsOfFate/pseuds/AshesStarsAndRedStringsOfFate
Summary: No one on the Phantom Thieves was straight, no matter what some (aka Ryuji) might think.A series of connected one-shots for Pride Month, following this group of gay disasters as they navigate life, love, being Phantom Thieves, and everything in between.Tags will be updated as oneshots are written.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren & Takamaki Ann, Amamiya Ren/Sakamoto Ryuji, Niijima Makoto/Okumura Haru, Persona 5 Protagonist & Takamaki Ann, Persona 5 Protagonist/Sakamoto Ryuji, Suzui Shiho/Takamaki Ann
Comments: 9
Kudos: 31





	1. when i met the man i would call my own (Day 1: First Meeting)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I'm trying out writing for P5 for Pride Month this year, and since I'm not in Germany for June like I was last year, I might actually be able to do all of these this year! 
> 
> Do heed the tags, and I hope you all enjoy!

He never expected it to be raining the day he met the most important man of his life. Granted, all of Ren’s expectations had left him after that fateful day, so he really hadn’t expected much of anything to happen in Tokyo. Yet here fate was, laughing at him for abandoning the hope of anything happening and throwing his apathy back in his face in the form of one Ryuji Sakamoto. 

Ryuji shone as bright as the sun, his passion and care burning through every word he spoke and every movement he made. The rain didn’t seem to matter to him, in the face of his ultimate mission. With his bright blonde hair and his loud voice, Ryuji was quite possibly Apollo incarnate, standing in front of Ren and glaring after a car while yelling about pervy teachers. That moment, unbeknownst to the Ren of that moment, would be the beginning of everything. 

From that moment on, he and Ryuji were, well, as thick as Thieves. Even if their friendship was founded on a misunderstanding, Ryuji stayed Ren’s best friend even after the truth was revealed. They went through Palaces at each other’s sides, spent hours in the lonely, cramped attic of LeBlanc playing video games and reading manga, and, as time went on, they began to grow closer than Ren had ever imagined possible when he had come to Tokyo. Ryuji was the first to call Ren his “best friend”, and that simple label sent Ren’s heart fluttering like nothing else ever had. Ann told him he had a crush on Ryuji. Ren denied it for a solid week before Morgana got so fed up with his denial that he and Ann staged an intervention, and Ren was forced to admit it to himself. He was, quite obviously, in love with his best friend, and probably had been since their first meeting. 

Ann constantly teased them about when the wedding would be, and every time Ryuji sputtered and insisted that it wasn’t like that, Ren could feel a tiny piece of his heart break. Did Ryuji not cherish their bond as much as Ren did? Didn’t he feel the same way? Why else would he hug Ren close and reassure him so kindly whenever a Mementos run ended with someone injured? Was Ren just reading this all wrong? 

“Ryuji’s just dense as a rock. He likes you back, he just doesn’t know it yet,” Ann reassured him over coffee one time. 

“He always says he’s straight, though,” Ren replied, glumly staring into the coffee he had made. He’d been getting better, and he was actually pretty proud of this attempt. 

“He’s a moron.” Ann sipped her coffee before continuing. “And he really hasn’t even considered that there are other options. I blame society at large for that one.” 

“Society can fight me,” Ren agreed. 

“Regardless, just give him time, Ren. I promise, things will work out in the end.” Ren thanked Ann for her advice, despite the fact that he thought it was a load of shit and that nothing would ever work out. Ryuji was the kindest, most handsome man on the planet, and he was almost certainly straight. Ren didn’t stand a chance in hell. 

Or so he thought, until a certain Mementos run. 

It was fucking stupid, honestly, what happened here. Ren should definitely have not been hit with that attack, but damn it, Ryuji hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings, and that attack would have almost certainly incapacitated him, and Ren was right there, after all. He could take the hit. Oh, it hurt like a bitch, just like Ren knew it would. It was still better than that blade possibly skewering Ryuji through the chest, hitting his heart and his lungs or severing his spine, or it could kill him. It was much better that it was now through Ren’s stomach instead, even though it had probably hit a vital organ. At least Ryuji was safe. 

“Ren you idiot!” Ah, Ryuji was yelling at him. That wasn’t good. Maybe taking a nap would be good? He was really tired. “Don’t you close your eyes on me! Stay the fuck awake, you hear me?! We’ll get you patched up, just hold on!” 

“Hold on to what?” Ren tried to laugh, but just ended up coughing instead. Oh, ow, that hurt. Also, he was probably tasting his own blood. That was probably bad. 

“You smartass.” Ryuji almost sounded like he was crying. Fuck. Ryuji shouldn’t be crying, especially if it was Ren’s fault. He needed to cheer him up, but how? 

“Remember… the first time we met?” Oh, that’s where his brain went. Well, if he was dying, better to tell Ryuji now. 

“What? What’s that gotta do with anythin’?” 

“You were like a little sun…” Ren giggled a bit at that, wincing at the pain shooting through his abdomen. “So bright, and wonderful… I’m pretty sure that’s the moment I knew…” 

“Knew what? You’re not making sense!” Ryuji sounded desperate, and Ren winced again as he felt something push down on his abdomen. That hurt even worse. It made the black spots in his vision grow bigger, the ringing in his ears grow louder, the fuzziness in his head get worse. He was going to pass out soon, and probably wouldn’t wake up again. He needed to tell Ryuji now. 

“That I love you,” Ren whispered, shakily raising a hand and placing it clumsily on Ryuji’s cheek. He forced a smile onto his face. “You’re my best friend, Ryuji… how could I not love you?” Apparently the strain of finally letting his secret out was too much on his poor body, because the darkness that had steadily been growing darker swept all of the way across his vision, forcibly pulling his consciousness down into the abyss with it. Ren barely had the presence of mind to feel his arm fall limp to the ground and to hear Ryuji screaming before he knew no more. 


	2. i'm gonna marry the man i love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two idiots finally talk after the events of last chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the comfort to the hurt of last chapter, and some fluff! 
> 
> ... two days late. Whoops

The Abyss couldn’t hold Ren for long. Oh, it certainly tried, no one could fault it for that. Ren wasn’t even fighting that hard to escape it, happy that he’d at least told Ryuji that he loved him before it was too late. He wouldn’t have to face rejection this way, and he was fine with that. 

Apparently, the universe didn’t agree with his plans, and Ren soon found himself back in his body, awareness slowly bleeding back into his body. He was pretty sure he was on his mattress in LeBlanc, and someone’s hand was in his hair, gently toying with the curls. Soft murmurs filled the room, the words unintelligible to Ren at this moment. He felt safe, warm, alive, all things he’d never expected to feel again, but he couldn’t find it in himself to really care at the moment. If it was a dream, it was a nice one. He was too tired to check at the moment, allowing himself to drift back down into a softer darkness. 

He came back into awareness at some other point later. The voices from earlier were a bit louder, not angry, yet concerned. 

“Shouldn’t he be awake by now? He’s healed up…” That was Ryuji. 

“Give it some time, Ryuji. He’s definitely stable. Any time now, he could wake up,” Ann’s voice came in response, soothing and clear. 

“I know, I know… I’m just worried,” Ryuji mumbled. Ren felt his heart clench at that. Ryuji shouldn’t be worried. He needed to make sure that Ryuji wasn’t worried anymore. He had to wake up. 

“Wait… I think he’s waking up.” Ryuji’s voice was getting louder and closer as Ren struggled to reassure him that everything was okay. “Ren? Ren, can you hear us?” Ren finally managed to force his eyes open, the world out of focus and a bit fuzzy. After blinking a bit, Ryuji came into focus above him, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. “Oh thank God you’re alive!” 

“Why… wouldn’t I be?”

“Oh, I don’t know, because you got  _ stabbed _ !” Ryuji yelled, throwing his hands up. 

Ann ducked back from one of his arms, holding her hands up as a shield. “Ryuji, calm down.” 

“I’m sorry,” Ren mumbled, staring up at the ceiling. “I didn’t mean to… worry you.” 

Ann gently patted Ren’s hair. “I’ll just yell at you later.” She then ran out of the room, leaving Ren and Ryuji alone. Ren refused to meet Ryuji’s eyes, scared of what he would see. 

“Ren… did you mean it?” Ryuji’s soft voice was such a stark contrast against his earlier yelling, startling Ren enough that he managed to look towards Ryuji, nodding once after a moment. “Why’d you wait, then?” 

“You don’t feel the same,” Ren answered, surprised that his voice didn’t shake. “You’ve made that pretty clear.” 

“Well, that’s bullshit.” With that declaration, Ryuji strode over to the bed, grabbed Ren’s face in his hands, and pulled him in for a kiss. Ren’s brain short-circuited the second their lips met, stuck on the sensation of Ryuji kissing him, Ryuji touching him and  _ holding his face _ , of Ryuji  _ loving him back _ . He couldn’t do anything, not even kiss back, even when Ryuji pulled away and stared him in the eyes before stating “Ren. If you don’t want this, tell me now.” His tone was so serious, more serious than Ren had ever heard him, and he was holding Ren like he was a precious, fragile thing that could break with one wrong move. 

“I- you- what?” Ren’s voice was barely working. He blamed it on the fact that he was clearly hallucinating. 

“Do you want to date me?” 

“Yes, yes, I- yes.” Ren’s vision blurred again, and he didn’t know why. Was he about to pass out again? He wouldn’t be surprised if he was about to. 

Ryuji’s thumbs carefully brushed over Ren’s cheeks, wiping away the tears that were blurring his vision. “You utter disaster.” 

Letting out a bark of laughter, Ren finally managed to cover one of Ryuji’s hands with his own. “Apparently you love me for it.” 

  
“That I do.” Ryuji laughed and pulled Ren back in for another kiss, Ren reciprocating this time. Oh, they still had to talk about quite a few things, and the rest of the Phantom Thieves had to yell at Ren for being a stupid, reckless idiot and getting himself hurt, but for now, they were content to sit there together, just basking in each other’s presence and love as they kissed. 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you guys thought down in the comments! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you all have a lovely Pride! 
> 
> ~Logan


End file.
